What’s Ahead?
By Dee L. McCroskey
"THOUSANDS Disappear!" "Driverless Cars Crash!" "Strange Event Shrouded
in Mystery!" Such will be the headlines of to morrow. God does
intervene in the affairs of men. In the beginning of our calendar time,
God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for the sins of mankind upon the
cross. Now, the time is drawing near when God's Son will return to judge
this world and rule over it. Here is the order of the coming events:
THE RAPTURE
This will be the greatest evacuation of all time. Our English word,
"Rapture," means "to be caught up." Here is the statement from the
Bible:
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in
Christ shall rise first; "Then we (believers) who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians
4:16-17).
"In a moment!" All living people who have received Christ as their
Saviour and Lord will be "caught up" in the air to meet Him. There will
be no time to receive Him then. God's Word says, "Behold NOW is the
accepted time" (II Corinthians 6:2).
THE TRIBULATION
According to the prophecies of God's Word, there will be an
unprecedented rejection of God, a world wide revolution against God
after the Rapture. Three times the Bible tells us that there never has
been, nor ever will be again, such a period in human history--of war,
violence and terror upon earth!
"For then shall be Great Tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew
24:21). See also Mark 13:19 and Daniel 12:1. It will be a time of
violence and terror, death and destruction, nuclear wars, earthquakes,
famines. It will last about seven years. Peace will be removed from the
earth, "that they should kill one another" (Revelation 6:4-8, 9: 15).
A world dictator, the Antichrist, will come into power. The Bible calls
him "the man of sin," Satan's man (II Thessalonians 2:3-4). This awful
period of time will culminate in the great and terrible "Battle of
Armageddon" (Revelation14:20 and 16:13-16). This will be in the Valley
of Megiddo, near Jerusalem. World events today are hastening mankind
toward that awful day!
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING
In great glory and power the Lord Jesus Christ will then return to
earth. "In righteousness He doth judge and make war" (Revelation
19:11). See further details in verses 12 to 16.
"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, Inflaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thessalonians
1:7-8).
THE KINGDOM AGE
After the destruction of His enemies at Armageddon, the Lord Jesus
Christ will reign on earth, as "King of kings, and Lord of lords," for
one thousand years. See Revelation 19:20-21 and 20:1-4. It will be a
reign of peace and true righteousness.
The Kingdom age will close with the Great White Throne judgment, when
the unsaved of all ages will be raised to stand before the Great Judge
(Rev. 20:11-15)."And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life
was cast into the Lake of Fire!" The Great Judge will be Jesus Christ,
whom they rejected.
He must be your Saviour now, or your Judge in that day!
BUT WHAT OF TODAY?
Yes, What of today? God put enough resources in the earth to last until
the Great King comes back to renew all things. Man is now rapidly
depleting the earth of all of these resources--oil, minerals, arable
land, water and even good air itself. Tensions mount, and war and
violence are filling the earth. The Great Tribulation is just ahead!
But God has a wonderful promise to all who will now receive His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Speaking of the coming Tribulation
"wrath," He says: "For God hath not appointed us (believers) to wrath
but to obtain salvation (or deliverance) by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with
Him" (I Thessalonians 5:9-10). Is He your Saviour? He died on the cross
to save you "from the wrath to come" (I Thessalonians 1:10). "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).
